Daily Morning Watch

January 18, 2022

This sort of chapter can seem boring, and it’s tempting to skip it, but don’t. If you pay attention, you might learn some interesting details about the early, pre-Flood world. First of all, note the ages. What do you see happening? Then take a look at verses 24 and 29. What do you learn? It’s even more interesting if you want to take time to look up the meanings of the various names. If you do, share with a friend the things you find out.

January 17, 2022

It didn’t take long, once people were under Satan’s influence, before things started to get very ugly. How shocking, for the first murder of all time to be a brother killing his brother! And still, God came calling. Astonishing! God cared, and even put protection on Cain—perhaps so he had a chance to change. We don’t know if he did, but by the end of this chapter, people were beginning to have prayer lives, understanding that even though they could no longer see God, God was still there.

January 16, 2022

We don’t know how long Adam and Eve lived in the garden before they gave in to the serpent’s temptations. It almost seems immediate. If Eve could have seen what you see today, she might have made a different choice! The most important part of this story, though, comes in verse 9. God still came calling! And He still comes calling you and me, too. Do you know where you are in relation to God?

January 15, 2022

In the original Hebrew, Adam simply means “earthling.” In this chapter, God separates that earthling into two—male and female, as mentioned in the first chapter. God makes clear that the goal is that those two be one in the same way that God is one. We’ve wandered far from that ideal, but it is still possible to see hints of that original oneness in godly marriages. Do you know of one or more marriages like that?

January 14, 2022

It’s a little mind-boggling to drop back to the very beginning, right after reading and rejoicing about the very end. But the most important thing is, God is at both ends. In this chapter, Elohim (a plural name for God) creates the world and the first people. God makes clear that both male and female are created “in our image.” Nowadays, we use “they” for one person if we don’t know if it’s male or female. Since God is a Trinity, we could use They that way for God, while still being clear that God is one. What do you think?

January 13, 2022

As you read this chapter, do your best to really make it real in your mind’s eye. What will it be like, to safely walk the streets of that city, where God is in complete control and no selfishness or sin ever enters? What will it be like to be able to devote your time to strengthening and using the gifts God has given you (and who knows how many more He will bestow?) Write a letter of praise to Jesus for all you’ve learned about Him from this book.

January 12, 2022

At long, long, long last, it is over! And it’s just begun! All sin is ended, and never again will any created being in the universe question whether God’s reign is just and God’s way of love is the best way to live. Those rescued from the fallen planet have a hard-won understanding no unfallen being could ever understand, and believe it or not, will help rule! Amazing, isn’t it? What do you learn about Jesus in this chapter?

January 11, 2022

There is really only one who is to blame for every evil thing that has happened on this planet. Lucifer knew. He knew! He knew the truth, he knew God, he knew Jesus, and he rebelled anyway. Once it was clear that he had lost, his only goal has been to take as many humans with him as possible. In this chapter, Satan gets a little time-out. And when he is set free, what does he do? Goes right back to the same old attempt to destroy all light. In contrast, what do you see about Jesus here?

January 10, 2022

Almost over! Almost…the Lord, Faithful and True, still must ride forth in final judgment, but after that, all will be light and joy. The hallelujahs sung in this chapter are for the righteousness of the judgment, and for the end of what we might call the System of Sin—no one is rejoicing at the end of the people who chose to follow that path, even though it was of their own choosing. What do you think Jesus is doing during these scenes? What can you learn about Him and His love?